Clashes have broken out in Venezuela after a major election on Sunday that gave President Maduro sweeping powers.

More than 100 people are dead and two opposition leaders were seized from their homes at night and jailed, supposedly for planning to flee the country and making political statements.

President Maduro has angrily denied claims the turnout figure in the election, disowned by the opposition, was wildly over-inflated.

A demonstrator is detained at a rally against Maduro on July 27 (Image: REUTERS)

Violent clashes have broken out between protesters and government forces (Image: REUTERS)

Sinn Fein MP Mickey Brady, part of a controversial delegation of observers of the poll, claimed it was "fair and equitable".

But an investigation has been opened by the country's attorney general into allegations over the turnout figure.

Smartmatic, the firm which created Venezuela's electronic voting system, said "we know without any doubt" that the turnout figure was "manipulated", probably by at least 1 million votes.

Jeremy Corbyn, a previous ardent supporter of Venezuela who is on holiday in Croatia, is facing pressure to condemn Maduro from Tory chiefs and two Labour MPs.

Mr Jones said Mr Corbyn will "at some point will have to make a statement" after calls for him to condemn Maduro.

But he stressed Shadow Foreign Minister Liz McInnes had already raised concerns over the regime and her statement was backed by the leader's office.

Protesters outside a burning office of the Venezuelan Supreme Court on June 12 (Image: EPA/MIGUEL GUTIERREZ)

An group of hooded people set the Executive Head Office of the Magistracy of the Venezuelan Supreme Court on fire as well as the BBVA Banco Provincial branch in the same building, according to a witness (Image: EPA/MIGUEL GUTIERREZ)

The Labour frontbencher said: "It can't be right, can it, that in a situation where there is a massive crisis in Venezuela at the moment to impose sanctions on the country.

"Surely it'd be far better, wouldn't it, to try and bring the sides together to facilitate talks and to encourage the right-wing opposition to stop these protests on the streets."

He added: "Clearly the circumstances have changed substantially in Venezuela over recent years - the collapse in the oil price and of course these violent protests which have been aided and abetted by the United States of America, who have been funding opposition groups and have a very shady record, going back many decades, of interfering in Latin America, right back to Chile where President Nixon said he was going to make the economy scream.

"We've had these manufactured shortages, with factory owners stopping production of products to create these shortages in the shops."

Asked if his politics were closer to Tony Blair's or that of Chavez and Maduro, he said: "When a government is doing good things, as they certainly were under Hugo Chavez, huge reduction in poverty, investment in healthcare and housing and really improving the life of ordinary people that's surely a good thing that we should celebrate.

"Trying to put up these false dichotomies about 'are you closer to Blair or closer to Maduro' I think is kind of an irrelevant question."

GMB union leader Tim Roache was also questioned on Venezuela today.

He said his union would continue to be part of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign - a Maduro-backing group - "for the people" of the crisis-hit socialist state.

"We must have talking and not more guns," he told the BBC.

Asked if Jeremy Corbyn should condemn the regime Mr Roache avoided the question, instead saying: "Of course we should ensure that human rights prevail in Venezuela."

Jeremy Corbyn has previously praised Venezuela but is currently on holiday (Image: PA)

Labour raised concerns over the worsening situation in Venezuela on Monday in a statement by Shadow Foreign Office Minister Liz McInnes.

She raised concerns over Maduro's "authoritarian" rule, condemned "repression, division, and violence" and said "human rights, free speech and the rule of law" must be protected.

A spokeswoman for the Labour leader said yesterday: "The Labour Party 's statement on Monday made clear our position on the importance of the respect for the rule of law and human rights.